Food with a Story

I have seen a lot of recipes for mashed cauliflower. People claiming they make a great low carb substitute for mashed potatoes. I was not buying it. Not for one second. I envisioned a lumpy, spongy, beige mess floating in a watery liquid. Blah.

First off I am not a huge fan of cooked cauliflower. It always seems to generate a bad smell and is very easily over cooked. I like it raw and in certain Indian dishes where the spices are so rich they could cover any bad smell/taste. Second I really like mashed potatoes. Why mess with a good thing? One good reason: because you have a head of cauliflower than needs to be eaten before upcoming vacation. I cannot stand to waste food. I have been burned by this rational before. Kale chips: love chips, love kale, hate kale chips.

I tasked Braden with finding a recipe and getting started while I was on my way home from work. Braden also not a fan of cooked veg in general, was sending disapproving vibes via text message. We powered through. He choose a Mock Garlic Mashed Potato recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower

1 tablespoon light cream cheese (optional)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (we used roasted garlic)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.Wash and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower dry between several layers of paper towels.In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, butter or margarine, and pepper until almost smooth.Garnish with chives, and serve hot.

So yeah. Really, super wrong on this one. I didn't even bother taking real photos because I was so sure this was going to be a flop (sorry only iPhone photos). It was amazing. Great texture, taste, no bad smell, no weird watery puddle. We all (kids included) had seconds. Probably because we only took a small serving initially, because say it with me: we thought we would kind of hate it. Hudson reported they tasted like pizza, not accurate, but OK. I had intended to post a different recipe that I love, but this trumped it. It was very close to the real thing and a little faster too.

Put it on your to try list. A great way to add more veggies into your diet, you are going to want to eat a lot of this. If you are looking to reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates in your diet this is for you. The nutritionals for the above recipe vs the same recipe using potatoes (based on four 225 g servings):

Well I would've agreed guessing it would be yucky too. But just a A few weeks ago I replaced most of the potatoes in a potatoes leek soup with cauliflower and it too was delicious. So I am going to try this one too!

Reply

Michelle V

1/16/2013 10:02:51 am

I am definetly trying this...I've been skeptical, but everyone tells me you can't tell the difference. I trust you! :)

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Jill Xotta

2/19/2013 09:14:18 am

Going to give this a try on the weekend- thanks for trying it first for all of us naysayers!!

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Tifany

3/6/2013 12:11:24 pm

Thanks for inspiring me to cook again and with a healthy twist. I have tried 4 of your recipes in the last two weeks and have enjoyed them all!

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Val

7/28/2013 11:25:41 am

D'lish! I didn't use the cream cheese and they were great! Uncle Gary and Sally loved them, too!

Actually, cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables. I am searching for all the cauliflower recipes I can find out there in the internet. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will try this as soon as possible.